The UN took notice of sex offenses committed by Ukrainian side during the Anti-Terrorist Operation

05.07.2016

The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights of the UN has registered a testimony of the detainees charged with terrorism. They claim that during the interrogation Ukrainian law enforcement officers threatened them with sexual violence in addition to other forms of torture and cruel treatment.

This is laid down in the fourteenth report on the situation with human rights in Ukraine, which encompasses the period from February 16 until May 15, 2016.

The report informs of two registered cases, which occurred near Avdiivka in April and May 2015.

“The detained man was tortured, forced to confess to being a member of militarized groups on camera. He was repeatedly threatened with sexual violence (he was told that his hands would be tied up and afterwards he would be raped by a homosexual)” the authors of the documents write.

Moreover, two women from one family, aged 18 and 41, were tortured and repeatedly threatened with sexual violence.

The UN also report that during the period of August-September 2014 “a man disabled as a result of mental disorder had been subjected to cruel treatment, rape, and other forms of sexual violence at the hands of 10 members of the battalions “Azov” and “Donbas”. Subsequently, the health of the victim deteriorated dramatically and he was admitted to a mental hospital.

The UN also point out that there is very little detailed information on the incidents of sexual and gender-based, because it is extremely hard to verify.

Due to negligence towards the rule of law and order in the territories engulfed by the conflict, as well as lack of resources needed by law enforcement for investigation, victims rarely ask for help. None of the cases documented by the High Commissioner Office have included a forensic-medical examination.

The UN are concerned with the lack of services that have withstood on both sides of conflict line and point out that international humanitarian organizations specialized in providing such assistance are not authorized to carry out their activity in the territories controlled by the militarized groups.